Kalos Adventure
by Cmcgee911
Summary: Ashley Ketchum comes to Kalos with the goal of winning the Kalos League. Watch her tackle a new adventure and capture new Pokemon. While also dealing with the shadowy Team Flare and its leader and a mysterious trainer harnessing the power of Mega Evolution.
1. Chapter 1

In the far-off region of Kalos, a 16-year-old girl with wild raven hair wearing a dark blue t-shirt with a white stripe down the middle and dark blue jeans and black and red running shoes stepped off the plane from her home region of Kanto. Her faithful starter pokemon Pikachu riding on her left shoulder looking around the busy city of Lumiose, a tall metal tower in the center of the city catching his attention.

"We made it Pikachu!" the excited girl said with wonder as she tried to take in all the sights of the massive city that made the ones in Kanto seem small in comparison.

A brown hair woman laughed as she looked at her younger traveling companion taking in the view. "This is the largest city in Kalos Ashley, there will be plenty of time for you explore later. We have our appointment with Professor Sycamore remember?"

The girl sheepishly rubbed the back of her head embarrassed. "I may have forgotten just a tiny bit Alexa." she nervously chuckled.

"Come on. We need to grab out bags and head out." Alexa said as she led her companion to the baggage claim area. Ashley and her Pikachu followed eagerly wanting to explore this new region and meet and battle all sorts of new pokemon.

After picking up their bags, they hailed a cab that took them through the very busy streets, Ashley and Pikachu looking and commenting on every new thing they saw. Taking more time to comment on the new types of pokemon they hadn't seen before and how awesome they looked, amusing their cab driver to no end.

After making it to the local Professor's lab, a large house that looked very out of place in the middle of a city full of skyscrapers complete with a large grassy yard complete with a battle field where it looked like a lab assistant was exercising some pokemon used in the lab for research.

After making their way inside and telling the research assistant manning the reception counter they had an appointment to see the professor before they were escorted up the elevator to the main lab and taken to the Professor's office where they were asked to wait while he finished up with another meeting.

Looking around the lab Ashley noticed a sleeping Garchomp on a large padded bed in the corner of the room. Just by looking at it she could tell it was very well trained and taken care of. Before she could examine it closer the door to the professor's office opened and a very tall mad dressed in black and had red hair in the shape of a lion's mane.

"Lysander, I will give you the information when I have more to give you. Until then I'm afraid I can't help you." the professor apologized as he escorted the man to the elevator.

"Not a problem Augustine. I understand discoveries like this take time to understand. Just know that any help me or my company can provide you, you let me know." the man identified as Lysander said as he shook the professor's hand before getting in the elevator.

After he was gone her turned to his guests and gave Alexa a big hug. "It's so nice to see you without a camera in front of your face!"

Alexa puffed he cheeks in faux irritation and shouted, "I do not always have a camera in front of my face when I see you! Just when I'm working."

"Sure, you do." he said as he looked to her guest. "And you must be Ashley! Alexa has told me a lot about you. Congratulations on winning the Unova League. I heard you surprised a lot of people with the pokemon you battled with."

Ashley blushed prettily at the praise from the older man. Professor Sycamore was a tall man in his early thirties with long slightly curly black hair and intense grey eyes. He wore a blue button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up and black pants and brown shoes. Ashley could admit he was as handsome as Alexa told her, and strong, as he was the regional Champion before he retired to be a pokemon researcher like Professor Oak.

"Thank you. I used the same strategy I used in the Sinnoh League. Most of the people there had never even seen some of the pokemon I used. It certainly gave me the advantage." Ashley said as she reminisced about the surprise the whole competition saw her using almost all pokemon not found in the Unova region. Her Primeape and Charizard were big hits as being the coolest pokemon there. Trip certainly found Charizard intimidating as it roasted his Serperior in their preliminary match.

"That boy you faced in the finals with all the Eevee evolutions. He should count himself very lucky to have so many rare pokemon. When I first became a researcher, I studied the Eevee line to find out why the Sylveon evolution has only really been discovered in the Kalos region." He said as he led Ashley and Alexa into his office and gestured for them to sit down in the chairs in front of his desk.

"What did you find out?" Ashley asked curiously. Virgil had shown her that he had all the Eeveelutions, but until today she hadn't even heard of Sylveon.

"It has to do with knowing a Fairy type move and a pokemon having a high affection level for its trainer in a method like how Bonsly evolves into Sudowoodo when it learns Mimic, and how many baby pokemon evolve with a high level of friendship with their trainer. The two combined methods are how Eevee becomes Sylveon." Professor Sycamore said excitedly.

"Huh. You learn something new every day." Ashley said as she was looking on her pokedex that she had upgraded by Professor Oak before she left for Kalos to see what Sylveon looked like. She thought it looked adorable when it popped up on the screen. How cute is a pokemon that had bows on its body!

"Indeed." he chuckled as he saw Ashley distracted with her pokedex. "So how can I help you ladies today?" wanting to get their meeting moving along.

Ashley put her pokedex away and said I need to register for the Kalos League please." Ashley said.

"No problem Ashley. I just need your pokedex and we will be all set." Ashley handed over her pokedex after she pulled it out of her pocket again. A few moments later it was handed back to her. "All set. You are officially entered in the Kalos League."

"Thanks professor!" Ashley exclaimed as she pocketed the device and went to give Pikachu a high five to show her excitement, but her little buddy wasn't with her. Looking around the office, she noticed Pikachu was off napping on the bed with Garchomp without a care in the world.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about professor?" Alexa asked after he finished registering Ashley. "You said there was a big announcement you wanted to make. A new discovery that will change the world of pokemon forever." she finished with air quotes much to professor Sycamore's chagrin.

"We have recently discovered the ability of some pokemon to further evolve past their final evolutionary form." He stated seriously.

Alexa sensing a juicy story quickly took out a pen a notebook and started taking notes. "What do you mean evolve past their final form? The most times a pokemon can evolve is twice. You're saying a third evolution is possible?" she asked excitedly.

Nodding his head, he replied, "Yes. However, the transformation isn't permanent. We have discovered that after a period of time or the pokemon involved faints, it reverts back to its original form."

"Incredible! Can all pokemon evolve like that?" Ashley asked amazed. Just imagine if some of her stronger pokemon could evolve again, even for just a short period of time.

"Unfortunately not. We have only discovered a small group of pokemon that can further evolve. My Garchomp for example, is one that we have found that can evolve further."

Ashley was super excited about that news. That means when her Gible reached his final evolution, he could evolve again. Sensing an opportunity, she asked, "Is there any way we could see this new form of evolution?"

"I don't see why not." He said as he got up and led an excited Ashley and Alexa out of his office. Walking to a desk where a heavy looking wooden box was on, he opened and removed two different colored stones. One was a small blue stone which looked like it had a black helix in the center, while the other was a larger purple stone that had a center that sort of looked like a flame in the same color as Garchomp's scales.

"What are those stones for?" Alexa asked after she took a quick picture of them.

"These are the items needed to induce the evolution." He explained as Alexa started furiously taking notes.

"So they are like a fire stone then?" Ashley asked trying to understand the process.

"Not quite. The stones aren't used up after the evolution. They can be used over and over. The purple stone is called a Garchompite, while the smaller blue stone we call a keystone. That one is for the trainer to have. These along with a strong bond between trainer and pokemon is what allows for them to further evolve. We call it Mega Evolution." he stated as he handed the Garchompite to the freshly awakened pokemon, Pikachu being awakened from his nap by the shifting pokemon.

"Do you mind if I bring my Gible out to witness this? It seems like something he would want to see?" Ashley asked the professor.

"Of course! It might also give him the inspiration he needs to evolve." he joked as Ashley released he land shark pokemon.

Gible immediately jumped and latched onto Ashley's head as his form of greeting causing Alexa and Professor Sycamore to laugh.

"I have to say, I'm glad when Garchomp was a Gible she didn't greet me like that." He chuckled out as Garchomp eyed her prerevolutionary form.

"Gible is a character alright, but I wouldn't have him any other way." Ashley said as she picked up Gible and held him close.

Nodding his agreement with her statement, and Alexa snagging a quick picture of Ashley and Gible, Professor Sycamore exclaimed, "Let's show them what we got Garchomp! Mega Evolve!"

The stones held by the professor and Garchomp started to glow before a crash was heard as a window was shattered and a device thrown at Garchomp causing it to cry out in pain as it stopped evolving and howled in pain and anger. The small group huddled on the floor to avoid the broken shards of glass that exploded inwards when the window was broken.

"Garchomp are you okay?" the professor yelled in concern as his dragon roared in pain as it was being continuously shocked by the strange device around its neck.

"Garchomp will be fine under the control of its new master Team Rocket!" said a male voice as he, along with a woman and a Meowth stepped through the hole where the window once was.

"Team Rocket! What are you doing here? I thought you were back in Kanto?" Ashley yelled at the trio that had been hounding her since she started her journey to become a Pokemon Master.

"You would think after all these years she would greet us by our names." snarled the long red headed woman.

The blue haired man beside her nodded his head and agreed, "It just goes to show you kids these days have no respect for their elders."

"I'll show you respect! Pikachu use Thunderbo." before she could finish the command Garchomp roared in pain startling everyone and launching a Hyper Beam that destroyed the lab equipment in front of it causing a small explosion that knocked everyone down.

"Now that we have the Garchomp under our control, we will for sure capture that Pikachu!" the cat pokemon said in his nasally voice as he went to press a button on the small control pad held in his paws. Before he could force Garchomp to do his bidding, Garchomp sent all three members of Team Rocket blasting off with another Hyper Beam that destroyed the wall where the window once stood.

Before they could relax about the evil Team being gone, Garchomp took off through the hole in the building and started to fly away, launching Hyper Beams every time it was shocked by the collar.

"No Garchomp!" Professor Sycamore yelled as he ran to the hole to see his pokemon causing untold amount of destruction as it tried to get away from the pain caused by the collar. Watching in terror as it blew up a cab with a stray Hyper Beam, luckily the driver was able to escape before the explosion.

"We have to help Garchomp Ashley yelled as she pulled a pokeball off her belt and enlarged it.

"How?" asked Alexa. "My pokemon wouldn't stand a chance against it!"

"Mine will." Ashley muttered as she threw her pokeball out the hole releasing the pokemon inside. The pokemon released a loud cry as it flapped its powerful wings blowing the dust in the lab back from the trainers and professor.

"Let's go! Follow that Garchomp!" Ashley yelled out as she jumped through the hole with Pikachu on her shoulder onto the pokemon's back before anyone could stop her, taking off in hot pursuit of the rampaging pokemon.

"Ashley it's not safe!" Professor Sycamore cried out after he got over the shock of a girl jumping out of a building onto the back of pokemon, no matter how large it was.

"Come on!" Alexa yelled as she grabbed the professor's arm and started dragging him to the elevator, they needed to catch up to Ashley and help her in any way they could.

Ashley held on tightly to her pokemon's feathers as her very first flying type chased after the scared and in pain dragon. As they gained on the fleeing pokemon, they had to change course suddenly as a news helicopter cut them off.

"Get out of here it's not safe!" Ashley screamed at the crew as they filmed the rampaging pseudo-legend. The crew completely ignored her as they followed its path of destruction.

"Morons!" Ashley swore under her breath as she urged her pokemon to move faster.

They were just about to pass the chopper when the worst happened. Garchomp heard the noise of the helicopter and launched a Hyper Beam that, thanks to the pilot taking evasive maneuvers, completely blew the tail off the small aircraft, instead of the cabin, where it would have killed them all.

Ashley could only watch in terror, as the crew started to plummet to the ground hundreds of feet below.

"Charizard go! Stop that helicopter!" Ashley screamed out to her second flier after she got over her initial shock.

Charizard took a look around to find his target before her shot off like a bullet to complete his orders. Charizard managed toto grab one of the landing skids one hundred feet above the ground and flapped his powerful wings as hard as he could to slow the falling aircraft. The crew screaming for their lives only spurred him to work harder to save them.

The crowd below them ran away screaming from where the craft was going to crash, while those far enough away could only watch on in awe as the fire starter from Kanto tried to save the news crew from certain death.

With the ground coming terrifyingly close, Charizard gave a bellow that rattled the windows and glass nearby as he completely stopped the craft from falling twelve feet from the ground, his wings blowing everything not rooted in the ground away with each powerful flap. He then gently set the helicopter on its side on the ground before righting it after he landed. He then took off after his trainer before anyone could thank him for saving their lives.

Ashley knew that as soon as Charizard grabbed the chopper they would be fine and urged her pokemon forward. Pikachu only gave a supportive wave as his friend and rival was left on his own to save the news crew. Ashley watched in horror as they most iconic building in Kalos, the Prism Tower, was hit by four separate Hyper Beams. Each blast blowing out larger portions of the building showering those below in glass, concrete, and steel.

They then saw Garchomp land on the highest balcony and collapse. The strain of all the Hyper Beams and the collar too much for the super powerful pokemon to handle.

"Land us near Garchomp. BE careful! It's very trigger happy right now. We don't need to be blasted out of the sky." Ashley warned her faithful flyer, as she was carefully set on the same balcony.

Ashley warily got off her pokemon with Pikachu and started to carefully approach Garchomp, who was growling warningly at their presence.

"Garchomp we are here to help you. The collar on your neck is causing the pain you are in. If you let me get it off, the pain will go away." Ashley said in her calmest voice, hoping it would listen to her.

It was not to be as Garchomp was shock by the collar and in response launched a Hyper Beam at Ashley. She barely jumped out of the way with Pikachu before it blew a large hole in the area she was just standing.

"Iron Tail on the collar Pikachu!" Ashley shouted knowing Garchomp would have to recover from the attack.

Pikachu rushed at the dragon before leaping in the air with a cry before flipping in the air bring a silver glowing tail towards Garchomp's neck, only to be batted away with a fin. Garchomp recovering much faster than anticipated.

It then launched a scorching hot Flamethrower in retaliation.

"Blow it away Pidgeot with Hurricane!" Ashley screamed.

The large bird swopped in front of Pikachu and Ashley at started furiously flapping it wings creating a massive gale force winds that completely scattered the flames before they could reach them.

To Ashley's dismay, Garchomp took the distraction of the flames to land an incredibly powerful Dragon Rush on Pidgeot knocking the bird into the side of the building, leaving a large crater at the impact site.

"Iron Tail quickly! Ashley shouted as Garchomp flinched at the recoil damage from the attack as Ashley recalled Pidgeot knowing in close quarters Pidgeot would be at a disadvantage to continue battling.

Pikachu shot off and successfully managed to strike the collar this time leaving a large crack in it. However, it wasn't enough to destroy it.

Garchomp was then shocked again and launched another Flamethrower in retaliation.

"Double Team into Brick Break!" Ashley called out as she moved behind a support pillar to get away from the flames.

Pikachu burst into ten different copies that all avoided the flames and ran at Garchomp.

Garchomp claws started glowing with Dual Chop as it brought its claws slashing through each copy as they jumped at him with a glowing paw.

It however missed the real Pikachu as it ran up behind it and smashed the collar, this time destroying it.

Garchomp immediately collapsed, the pain fueled adrenalin keeping it standing exhausted now that the pain had stopped.

Pikachu quietly stood at the ready in case it attacked again, before Ashley called him back to her. "It's okay Pikachu. It won't attack anymore." as she picked up her started and placed him on her left shoulder as she calmly approached to now barely conscious pokemon. "It's going to be okay Garchomp. We'll get you to the Pokemon Center and have you back to normal in no time flat."

Before she reached the dragon, the balcony gave a loud groan, before buckling causing Garchomp to be knocked off the platform and to plummet towards the ground. Ashley then did what she always did when a pokemon needed her, she jumped to save it.

While this was happening Alexa and Professor Sycamore finally reached the base of the Prism Tower, both gasping at the large holes in the iconic building, some still spewing flames from the blast as fire crews raced to put them out before the rest of the building caught fire as well.

People started cheering when the attacks on the top of the building stopped, showing the crazy girl on top had stopped the rampaging pokemon. Those cheers turned to screams when the balcony collapsed from the strains of battle spilling the formerly rampaging dragon into the open air, who made no moves to stop itself, only to see the girl jump off the remaining balcony after it.

Unbeknownst to all watching this horrific event live, it was being broadcast all over Kalos live as a special report. A woman and her daughter in Vaniville Town watched in terror as the girl jumped off the balcony after the falling pokemon.

"Oh, Arceus no!" the brown-haired woman screamed at the television while her honey blond hair daughter cover her mouth in terror. Both were shocked the length the girl would go to save a pokemon.

Ashley had to squint as the wind from falling caused her eyes to water as she fell towards a terrified Garchomp. Reaching the pokemon she grabbed it and yelled to be heard over the rushing wind, "I got you! You're going to be fine!"

Ashley was thinking fast. There was no way Pidgeot was strong enough to carry them both and she had no idea where Charizard was. The only other pokemon she had on her was Gible and there was no way he could do anything, and Pikachu was still on the balcony. The ground was coming closer and she had no idea what to do and was getting scared. Is this where it ended for her? Right after she won her first Pokemon League?

Before her thoughts could take her further than questioning if this was the end, a large pair of orange arms grabbed the falling trainer and pokemon stopping their freefall and carried them down safely to the ground. Ashley and Garchomp were released onto the ground gently before Charizard rocketed off again, only to return a minute later with a very scared Pikachu who ran and jumped into a shocked Ashley's arms and rubbed his cheek against hers to make sure she was okay.

"Out of the way!" Professor Sycamore yelled as he pushed through the crowd forming around Ashley and the pokemon. "Are you okay Ashley?! Why the hell would you do something like that?" he fired off as Alexa made her way quietly next to him.

Ashley came to the realization she was safe let out a sigh of relief. She was okay and so was Garchomp after it got some medical attention. A Nurse Joy and Wigglytuff pushing their way through the whispering crowd with a stretcher where with the help of Charizard, they gently set the injured and exhausted Garchomp and rushed to get it to the nearest Pokemon Center to treat it. Professor Sycamore getting a nod from the nurse that they will take good care of his pokemon.

"What was the question Professor?" Ashley asked embarrassedly rubbing the back of her head after she watched Garchomp getting taken away.

The older man could only sigh and rub his face tiredly. "If this is something you do regularly, I'm glad your Samuel's problem. No wonder he has so much grey hair with you as his charge."

Ashley puffed up indignantly, "Professor Oak agrees with me! A person should do anything in their power to save a pokemon!"

"I'm pretty sure I heard him say something similar when I was in Pallet Town with her." Alexa chimed in as she gave the younger trainer a hug to show how glad she was that she was safe.

"See?" Ashley said smugly to professor Sycamore before she stood up and jumped into Charizard's arm giving the large pokemon a bone crushing hug. "You are the best pokemon ever Charizard!"

Charizard gave a large roar of approval at the claim that caused some people in the crowd to flinch at the sound.

Suddenly a small blue frog jumped in front of Charizard and looked at him with stars in his eyes marveling at the powerful pokemon.

"Froakie what are you doing here?" asked the professor suddenly seeing the pokemon that is supposed to be at the lab.

Froakie started to explain by pointing at Ashley and Charizard and the camera crew that were filming the whole incident which was still being broadcast all over the Kalos Region, and some of the other regions picking up the story as well. Ashley was in for a rude awakening when a certain mother In Pallet saw her only child jump off a building on the TV.

"Let's move this back to my lab. I'm sure Ashley has had enough excitement for the day." Sycamore said as he led the small group back towards his lab, the camera crew shouting in protest about getting an interview with the new hero of Lumiose City.

The group with Froakie in tow made their way back to lab to many appreciative glances at Ashley for stopping the rampaging pokemon. The evidence of the rampage littered their entire walk back, cars destroyed, holes in the street, a building fire being put out with the combined efforts of pokemon and firefighters.

Making it back to the lab the assistants were already hard at work cleaning the outside of the building and making sure there was no permanent damage to the structure.

"Garchomp really did a number didn't it." Ashley whistled seeing the damage to the lab.

"Yes, she did." The professor said as he plopped into a chair in the labs waiting room after walking inside.

"What's going to happen now?" Alexa asked.

"The police are going to be informed of course. Considering Team Rocket is a Kanto criminal organization, I'm sure the International Police will be involved as well." he responded.

"Great." Ashley huffed. "Hours of getting asked the same questions." She then sat on the chair opposite the professor Pikachu getting pet in her lap.

"I don't even want to know how you know what's going to happen." The professor commented as he leaned his head back in his chair.

"Are you sure? Ashley had a doosy of an adventure in the Unova from what I've heard." Alexa cheerfully chimed in.

Before anyone could reply a lab assistant walked in nervously. "Um, Ashley Ketchum? Your mother is on the phone for you. She seems very angry."

"Oh shit." Ashley said ashen face. She was screwed.


	2. Chapter 2

"I can't believe my only child would do something as dangerous and stupid as jump of a building to save something that was destroying it not five minutes earlier!" raged a mother with brown hair as she yelled at her cringing daughter on the video phone.

"Charizard was there to get us!" Ashley said hoping that would stop the screaming of her very terrified and furious mother.

"And that was your plan?!" she screeched. "I could see the look of relief on your face when he grabbed you! You had no idea where he was or if he was going to catch you!"

"It worked out, didn't it?" Ashley shot back getting angry herself. She didn't even have a scratch on her, why was her mother flipping out so badly. She did crazy stuff all time to save pokemon, most of which she never breathed a word about to her mother and swore her traveling companions to silence on.

Ashley's mom looked like she was going to scream something before she just let out a huge sigh and started to cry and it made Ashley feel horrible. Her mother was the sweetest kindest woman she knew and she made her cry.

"I'm sorry mom." Ashley said quietly, not even able to look the woman in the eye.

"I know sweetie." Delia Ketchum replied. "You get more like your father the older you get. It just breaks my heart to see you risk your life like that." she said as she stopped her crying.

"It's something he would have done. He was always trying to save pokemon." Ashley replied stubbornly as her mother wiped the remaining tears from her eyes.

"Yes, he did." Delia responded sternly, "But your father also lost his life doing that as well and left you and I all alone."

Ashley had no comeback for that. Her dad had died when she was six trying to stop a band of poachers in Hoenn from stealing a group of Bagons. He stopped them, but was seriously injured for his efforts, and died before the authorities and medics could get to him. It was subject that neither one of them brought up very often.

"I'm just glad your safe my baby. Please just don't do anything like that again please." she whispered to her only child, and the only permanent reminder of her late husband.

"I'll do my best mom." Ashley muttered quietly, the mention of her father's death knocking any fight out of her to make the promise to her mother.

"Good. Stay safe and have fun." her mother replied before hanging up the phone.

Ashley groaned as she hung up the phone. Her mother had just killed any enthusiasm she had for saving Garchomp.

"I take it didn't go well?" asked Alexa as she saw slump in the chair in front of the video phone.

"Nope." Ashley said as she rubbed her eyes before standing up and making her way back to the professor.

"Cheer up!" Sycamore said happily, "At least she already yelled at you. Now you don't have to worry about it happening later."

"You're just a ray of sunshine kind of guy, aren't you?" Ashley said as she sat down.

Before he could reply, a large group of police officers entered the building. The fun Times were about to begin. Ashly groaned again as she knew exactly what was going to happen.

"I really hate being questioned by the police." Ashley muttered as she and Pikachu got ready for bed in a room provided by the professor. The questioning took forever. Because it involved a criminal group from Kanto, the International Police were called in after the Lumiose Police left. Ashley couldn't be sure, but she could have sworn one of the officers looked familiar.

"Let's hope we have a few calm days before we get involved in anything like this again Pikachu. We got out plans for Kalos and I want to follow them as close as possible for once." Ashely whispered as she gave Pikachu a hug before falling asleep.

The next morning where the only thing on the news and in the newspapers, were the damage and horror done to the city of Lumiose by a rampaging pokemon and the hero who stopped not only the carnage, but also saved the lives of the helicopter crew who ran foul the dragon on the terror spree.

So far Ashley's name hadn't been released as the savior and she was hoping to keep it that way. She never did any of the things she did for recognition, she did them because it was the right thing to do.

After a breakfast and a quick shower Ashley was excited to head off to Santalune City for her first gym badge in Kalos.

"Before running off let me call my sister and make sure she's there." Alexa said as she stopped Ashley from running out the door to her gym battle.

"Fine. I guess it's better than showing up and its closed." Ashley said as she sat on the couch impatient for Alexa to get off the phone.

While sitting the Froakie from yesterday came and tapped her on the knee getting her attention.

"What can I do for you Froakie?" Ashley asked the small blue frog.

Froakie pointed at the pokeball he saw her put Charizard in.

"You want to see Charizard again?"

Froakie shook it head in the negative and blew a few small bubbles at the ball.

"You want to battle Charizard?" she asked in disbelief. The only answer she got was a happy yell before the frog took off into the front yard where the battlefield was.

Professor Sycamore laughed at Ashley's dumbfounded face. "Froakie loves to battle tough opponents."

"Why hasn't he been picked by a trainer then?" Ashley asked as she stood up and made her way out front.

"He has, a few times actually." the professor said sadly. "He just abandons them. They don't have what he's looking for in a trainer. So, I've been doing my best to look after him until he finds what he's looking for in a trainer."

Ashley said nothing as she thought about what she just learned about Froakie. Maybe this was Froakie's way of testing her.

She saw Froakie ready to go on his side of the field and was waiting on her.

"I'm not going to go easy on you Froakie. I want you at your best as well." Ashley got an affirmative yell before she released Charizard to battle.

Charizard looked at the little frog in front of it and puffed black smoke out his nostrils in preparation for battle.

"You have the first move Froakie."

Froakie wasted no time before throwing a turbulent ball of water at fast speeds towards Charizard who looked at the attack with disinterest.

"Dragon Claw to destroy it, then Flamethrower."

Charizard's glowing green claw made short work dispersing the attack and launched a massive wall of flames in retaliation.

Froakie responded by using Double Team to hopefully confuse Charizard as to his location. When the flames just consumed the clones, Froakie used Dig to dive in the ground to hide from the flames.

"Watch your surroundings. You feel the ground shake, blast the area with Dragon Pulse." Ashley ordered watching the field for the blue pokemon.

Charizard noticed some loose stones trembling near his left foot and jumped in the air and launched the swirling compressed ball of draconic energy at the spot causing an explosion of dust and debris.

When the dust cleared Froakie was doing his best to stand out of the crater of the attack before collapsing into unconsciousness.

Ashley walked over after pulling out a Hyper Potion out of her bag and spraying it on the frog healing his injuries and patting the slowly awakening pokemon.

"You were fantastic Froakie. Seeing how quick you reacted to Charizard's moves made it very clear to me you work very hard to get stronger. Your moves prove it." Ashley said softly to the now very happy pokemon who did his best to jump and give her a hug.

"Maybe you should take Froakie with you and make him stronger. He seems to really like you." Professor Sycamore suggested.

"What do you say Froakie? Do you want to work hard with me and all my other pokemon?" Ashley asked the now super excited pokemon who nodded eagerly. Ashley removed an empty pokeball and tapped Froakie on the head. The pokeball immediately dinged signaling capture.

"I promise I'll take very good care of Froakie." Ashley said to the smiling professor. Charizard and Pikachu yelled their approval at their new team member.

"I'm sure you will Ashley." He said as he smiled at her. He gave a glance at Charizard and commented, "You have a very well trained Charizard. It makes me wonder who would win in a battle between your Charizard and my Garchomp."

"We will just have to find out when Garchomp is all better." Ashley said excitedly. It wasn't everyday a former Champion challenged her to a battle.

"Just know I won't take it easy on you. I want you at your best!" he said with a chuckle at her enthusiasm for the battle in the future.

"I should have my first Gym badge by the time Garchomp is healed, we can battle after that." She suggested.

"About that," Alexa interrupted, "my sister isn't at her Gym right now. She is off right now doing a photoshoot right now with the current Champion for her upcoming title defense against Drasna, a member of the Elite Four."

Ashley slumped at the news. She was looking forward to her first Gym battle in the Kalos Region. "Do you have any idea when she will be back?" Asley said glumly.

"A few days at the most. She was hired to take pictures of the challenger and their face off and what not. This is a big deal. Diantha hasn't had a public battle in almost a year."

"I understand. I'll just have to be patient." Ashley said as she scratched the back of her head in annoyance.

"Cheer up! That gives you a few days to train. My sister is no pushover." Alexa cheerfully said.

"True, but I guess that gives me an excuse to get something done I've wanted to do since I was in Johto." Ashley said with a renewed burst of vigor.

"And what is that?" the professor asked.

"I want to catch a Larvitar. Can anyone direct me to Terminus Cave?" she pleaded looking at the adults around her.

"Well, there are certainly reports of Larvitar being found there, they are in the deepest part of the cave system. Getting there is not easy, nor are the pokemon particularly friendly to humans." Sycamore cautioned Ashley.

"I know that. It's just that there are so few places to catch one in the wild where they aren't located on pokemon preserves."

"Indeed. That line of pokemon is notoriously difficult to train, not to mention their rarity." he agreed.

"I can handle it. I've been in tough situations before. Besides I know Larvitar as a pokemon. I hatched one from an egg and raised it for months before he was returned to his mother. I just visited him a few weeks ago. He's sweet on another Larvitar in his play group."

"Was that the trip you took for Professor Oak?" Alexa asked. Ashley had run an errand for the old researcher that she just said she had to check up on something for him.

"Yeah! I even videotaped the group for the professor. He said it could help in his research on interpersonal pokemon relationships."

"You took that video?" The professor asked excitedly looking like Christmas had come early.

"Uh yeah. I even took some notes while I wasn't playing with them." Ashley asked slightly confused by his excitement.

"You realize that video completely contradicts the belief that Tyranitar are solitary when raising their young. It's been speculated that because of their immense power and fierce protectiveness of their young that they raised them away from others for safety. Your video shows that that theory is completely wrong regarding the population living at Mount Silver. This has sparked a huge debate if that is just an anomaly with that population, or if it applies to the species as a whole. And if these pseudo-legendary pokemon socialize their young, do the other species do the same for their young." he sprouted in joy.

"Okay…." Ashley and Alexa deadpanned.

"You have just started a whole new debate among pokemon researchers. This is huge." He tried to defend himself at their disbelieving expressions.

"Right." Ashley said. "All I know is that I got to play with a bunch of cute pokemon and it made me want one for myself. Doesn't hurt that Tyranitar is so amazing."

"Professor Oak's report said nothing about anyone interacting with the Larvitar. The mothers actually let you play with them?"

"Well it's not like they just let me. The Larvitar I took care of and his mother vouched for me with the others." Ashley explained how she got to hang out with the rare pokemon.

Professor Sycamore rushed inside the lab to get a piece of paper and pen to start taking notes about the experience. When he got back he asked, "So, you are saying that just by having one Tyranitar and her offspring vouch for you was enough to appease the others that you had no ill intention towards their children?"

"Well, I mean I met Larvitar at the Pokemon Ranger Station. He took me to where he lived with his mother. We had a nice reunion there and then it was his mom that took us the gathering. I'm sure we were watched as soon as we got there. The Rangers had said there was an unusual amount of activity from the Tyranitars before my arrival."

"So, they were scouting to see if you would be safe to be around their children. Fascinating. You told all of this to Professor Oak?" he asked as he finished up the note he was writing and looking her in the eye.

"Yeah." Ashley confirmed. "He also got some of the video the rangers took of the unusual activity before I got there. He said he was going to analyze it some more before releasing his findings."

"This is incredible!" Sycamore shouted in glee. He started to then hurriedly mutter to himself before rushing off to his lab, to do what Ashley and Alexa didn't know what.

"I think you might have a new number one fan." Alexa teased Ashley.

"Please." Ashley scoffed. "If he saw some of the videos I took of my encounters with legendary pokemon he would cry himself to sleep."

"Manaphy was so cute!" Alexa squealed as there was large picture in Ashley's house with her and the Hoenn Legendary hugging on the beach with the sunset behind them.

"Yes, he is. I saw him after I home from the Sinnoh League. He was traveling around the oceans doing whatever it is he does and recognized Pikachu on the boat. We got to spend a few hours together before we had to part ways again."

"You are so lucky to have met so many Legendary Pokemon. Seeing even one is so rare." Alexa said with some slight jealousy in her tone.

"Not very many times I did meet them didn't involve me almost dying." She would never admit that the events on New Island did in fact kill her. She was thankful besides her and the legendaries involved, Pikachu was the only ones who remembered that part of the adventure. She would never admit for months afterwards she would have nightmares about the incident, and Pikachu the only one she could confide her fears too.

"Very true. Your story of Team Plasma and what they did before you met up with me sounds terrifying. Battling a pokemon of that kind of power and walking away from it. It's no wonder you won the League there."

"I won because of all the work my pokemon and I put in to it. I couldn't have done it without them." Ashley said as she gave Pikachu a scratch on his head as he jumped in her arms.

"Of course not. You have a relationship with your pokemon that I haven't seen very much among the younger trainers." Alexa commented.

Before Ashley could respond, Professor Sycamore returned carrying a small box and a smile on his face. He handed the box to Ashley and motioned for her to open it up. Inside she found a red device similar in shape to her Hoenn pokedex.

"What is this?" Ashley asked curiously as she picked it up and looked it over.

"It is a Holo Caster. It's just been released by Lysander Labs. He left a few of these here for me to hand out to research assistants to keep in contact in the field. They are like the Xtransievers used in Unova, except instead of a small video screen they use holograms to project an image." He explained as he pulled out his own and showed Ashley and Alexa a short clip of Garchomp having a mock battle with a Pangoro.

"This is so cool!" Ashley said as she looked at the device in her hand with wonder in her eyes.

"Yes, they are." he agreed. "I was hoping if you had any other encounters with rare or pokemon exhibiting strange behaviors if you could record them for me. It could be a huge help to the research conducted here at the lab."

"Of course! I do the same for Professor Oak every time I go to a new Region." Ashley agreed as she shook his outstretched hand.

"Excellent!" Professor Sycamore said cheerfully, a large smile across his face. "This will be a huge help to the work we do here."

"No problem." Ashley said as she went to pocket the Holo Caster.

"Hold on a second." He said causing Ashley to pause in her actions. "I have taken the liberty of highlighting the route for you to take to Terminus Cave after a short stop in Anistar City."

"Thank you, Professor Sycamore! This will be a real help." Ashley exclaimed.

"No problem. It shouldn't be any more than a couple hours flight on you Pidgeot to get to Anistar City. You can spend the night in the Pokemon Center and head out early tomorrow morning."

"I'll do that." Ashley agreed with his plan. "I'll ask around the Center to see where they have been found in the cave. I can't be the only one looking for a Larvitar."

"Certainly not." Alexa agreed. "That is where I caught my Noibat, who've you met. She was the most adorable little pokemon. Even after evolving she hasn't gotten rid of her habit of biting strangers." She laughed uncomfortably at Ashley's deadpan look. Ashley had been on the receiving end of those teeth a few times when they first met.

After chuckling a little about her experience with the older woman's pokemon Ashley put her hand out, "I guess this is where we part ways then?"

"Unfortunately, it is. I really must finish my story for the paper. It has been a blast traveling around with you Ashley." Alexa said as she bypassed the handshake and pulled the younger girl into a hug.

Ashley returned the hug and said, "Thank you for coming with me to Kalos and for helping me train my pokemon."

Alexa chuckled as they broke the hug, "I'm sure my pokemon got out of it than yours did. Noivern sure let me know her displeasure at having to work so hard."

"My pokemon did get a lot of experience fighting such a fast flyer. We all got something out of it." Ashley argued.

"Sure thing squirt." Alexa laughed as she hugged her again. "Now go catch a Larvitar. Remember my sister is a bug specialist so it will really help you out in the battle."

"I will. I hope to see you soon Alexa." Ashley said as she turned around and returned a now snoozing Charizard and releasing Pidgeot. She climbed on her waiting back and waved to the two adults before taking off at a blistering pace.

After watching the young trainer go off into the distance, Professor Sycamore said after Ashley was no longer visible, "She's going to make it to the finals of the League, isn't she?"

"She going to win it." Alexa said as she started heading out to her apartment to drop her things off from her journey.

"I'm sure she has the potential to." he said as he waved her goodbye.

Meanwhile in a bunker located under the city, Lysander was going through reports on the trainer who stopped the rampaging pokemon yesterday.

He was disturbed by a knock and his door, after admitting them a man in a bright orange suit with matching hair handed him a folder and left after being dismissed.

Opening the file, he found reports stolen from the International Police's records. It seems this Ashley Ketchum had been involved with more than just stopping an out of control pokemon. Reports from Kanto, Johto, and every Region she had been in she played a huge role in the destruction of the criminal organizations there.

Putting the file down he picked up his phone and made a call, after a moment for the other party to pick up, he said, "I have a new mission for you. You're going to like this one."


End file.
